'Healthy' breads not what they seem to be

MANY HIGH-FIBRE breads marketed as healthy actually contain refined flour and additives and are high in salt, according to a new survey.

While the traditional white sliced pan favoured by most consumers suffers from being low in fibre, alternatives - browns, brown sodas, multigrain, wholegrain and wholemeal breads - are not all they seem to be, the survey by Consumer Choice magazine suggests.

It shows that most wholegrain breads have more white flour than wholemeal, for example, and four out of six brown breads surveyed contain refined white flour with bran added rather than wholegrain.

The magazine, published by the Consumers Association of Ireland, says bread marketing "can play on the healthier status of wholegrain bread, while not actually being wholegrain". It says statements used to market these products, such as "hearty grain bread" or "part of a healthy diet", are not technically wrong, but may confuse and mislead consumers.

It calls for stricter requirements on bread marketing, such as setting the percentage of wholemeal flour that a bread must contain if the terms brown, wholegrain and multigrain are used. Labelling rules could also be strengthened to include information about the percentage of each flour used in the bread.

The Irish Bread Makers Association said providing such information could prove "very complicated" and was not required by law.

"The grain gives the goodness, not necessarily the flour used," said spokesman Paul Kelly. The increasing variety of breads on the market was a reflection of diversifying consumer taste, he added.

High salt levels in bread continue to be a problem, despite an industry-wide commitment to reduce the amounts added to enhance flavour, the survey also shows. Five of the 30 breads surveyed, and three out of five brown sodas, were classified as high in salt (more than 1.5 g/100 g).

The magazine says it is unclear from labelling how much wholegrain a bread contains. All the wholemeal breads in the survey contained only wholemeal flour, though one of the five was high in salt.

Describing breads as "brown", "granary" and "multigrain" can make them look like they contain wholegrains, but actually most contain a mix of different flours, such as refined white flour with bran or seeds added, the magazine says. Malted flour, for example, is often added to make bread look brown.

Of the six brown breads examined, four contained refined wheat flour with bran added and not wholegrain. Eight out of 10 multigrain breads were found to contain no wholemeal flour whatsoever.

The survey also found that 53 per cent of the breads had preservatives, 77 per cent emulsifiers and 80 per cent flour treatment agents. In addition, soya flour was used in 60 per cent of breads and added gluten in 30 per cent.